Morning Brief

Reports by Malaysiakini and the watchdog Rimba Disclosure Project revealed that over 800 hectares of forest land in Bukit Lagong will be cut down to make way for 27 quarries, involving three developers linked to the Selangor state government. What does this signal about the state government’s commitment to green conservation? We discuss the implications of the quarry development for Bukit Lagong w...

From October 11 onwards, Japan will finally open its borders to individual tourists, and resume visa free entry for short term travellers, thus marking the end of their cap on daily arrivals. Will this mean Japan’s tourism sector seeing a light at the end of the tunnel? We speak to Denise Wong, Equity Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence for some outlook on Japan’s prospects. See omnystudio.com/list...

The full reopening of the economy has seen the return of road congestion and mounting frustration over the lack of commuting options in the Klang Valley. What policies would best address the gaps in urban public transport? Aziff Azuddin, independent urban mobility researcher give us his prescription for Budget 2023. Brought to you by Mah Sing. Reinvent Spaces. Enhance Life. See omnystudio.com/list...

According to police statistics, more than 71,000 scams amounting to over RM5.2 billion in losses were reported between 2020 and May 2022. In response, Bank Negara is introducing a slew of initiatives to curb financial scams, including instructing banks to migrate away from SMS OTP authentication. How effective are these measures? We get reactions from Munira Mustaffa of Chasseur Group. Image credi...

Budget 2022 received the highest allocation in the nation’s history at RM332 billion. Malaysia witnessed a 6.9% growth in the GDP for the first half of 2022 and is projected to exceed annual growth targets this year. How much of this is due to the implementation of Budget 2022 policies? Farah Rosley of EY gives us her review. For more information on Budget 2023, visit  budget.mof.gov.my . See...

Malaysia's tourism industry is finally starting to recover, with Tourism Minister Datuk Nancy Shukri projecting a new target of 9.2 million tourist arrivals for 2022. But with global economic conditions set to take a downturn, how can Budget 2023 help tourism players position themselves to compete with international offerings? Nigel Wong of MATTA gives us the outlook for the sector and their wishl...

We speak to Saktiandi Supaat, Head of FX Research, Global Markets, and Maybank Singapore on how emerging market currencies will perform with strengthening US dollar as UK’s newly announced mini-budget sent the pound sterling to record lows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chairman of the Election Commission estimated GE15 could cost RM1 billion ringgit. How much should the price tag factor into the timeline of the elections? We ask Danesh Prakash Chacko of Tindak Malaysia what he thinks on this.   Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Umno President Dato’ Sri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was acquitted of 40 bribery charges last Friday, when the Shah Alam High Court ruled that the prosecution had failed to show a prima facie case against the politician. While his legal issues are far from over, the victory no doubt gives his supporters a morale boost and gives him a lifeline ahead of GE15. We discuss the prospects for Zahid Hamidi and imp...

With record property transactions in the 1H 2022, we ask Datuk NK Tong, President of The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) on whether the property market will remain resilient and what would be his wish list for Budget 2023. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the inevitable global economic slowdown, what options does the Malaysian economy has to sustain growth? With a RM1 trillion debt and an election pending, are our options limited? Dr. Nungsari A. Radhi, Economist gives us some ideas. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of residents has issued a Letter of Demand to KL City Hall and the Federal Territories Ministry for information on flood mitigation measures being taken. Because let's not forget how last year's monsoon season led to the worst incidents of flooding in the Klang Valley. The latest Attorney General’s Report published last month, also revealed that DBKL has only implemented 7.7% of flood miti...

A hike in interest rates is positive for banks but less so for neo banks. What then is the path to profitability and how innovative do digital banks have to be to achieve market share? Tamma Febrian, Director of Financial Institutions at Fitch Ratings tells us. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite claiming to champion Malay-Muslim Unity and ostensibly being in the same government, Umno, Bersatu and PAS are constantly at odds with one another. The latest manifestation of this dysfunctional relationship is the war of words between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri and his predecessor, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of Bersatu. What does all this finger-pointing signal about the ti...

With Jerome Powell determined to bring inflation down and taking on very Volcker tones, markets were spooked with 2 Year Treasuries surpassing 4% for the first time since 2007. However will these aggressive rate hikes push the US economy into hard landing? Khoon Goh, Head of Asia Research at ANZ tells us whilst giving us insight into how Asian central banks and also currencies will react. Image cr...

According to Wisma Putra, there have been 301 reports on job scam cases in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand to date. Many are initially lured by ads promising easy work and extravagant perks, but are then held against their will by human trafficking syndicates and forced to conduct online criminal activity. What policy responses are needed to stamp out trafficking job scams? Adrian Pereira of...

With the newly launched National Energy Policy, the government targets to increase the use of electric vehicles to 38%. How achievable and practical is this? We hear from energy policy specialist Shahrol Halmi for his views. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GLC and GLIC heads as well as the judiciary will now be required to declare their assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. We get reactions on this announcement from Cynthia Gabriel, Executive Director of C4 - Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Biden declared in an interview with CBS that the pandemic is over in the US. Yet, CDC data shows that an average of nearly 400 Americans a day continue to die from COVID-19. So is the pandemic in retreat? Professor Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant in Infectious Diseases at National University Hospital Singapore tells us. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

The ringgit has fallen by 9% to the greenback on a year-to-date basis, levels not seen since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. Some view the weakening currency as an indication that Malaysia’s economy is on the rocks, but is that necessarily the case? Business commentator Pankaj C. Kumar helps us make sense of the relative value of currencies, and also highlights the structural issues in the eco...

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is barred from running for a third term as president, but rumours have surfaced that he may be considering a run as vice-president. We speak to Resty Woro Yuniar of the South China Morning Post on the political developments there as well as look ahead to the G20 Summit in November which Indonesia is hosting in Bali. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener...

The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development recently disclosed that there is a shortage of child protection officers, with one officer currently handling 50 to 100 cases of child abuse and neglect, compared to the target ratio of one to 30 cases. We discuss the challenges in hiring more child protection officers and other policy measures to strengthen the response to child welfare issu...

What’s the difference between brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals? And how can Budget 2023 help lower the cost of medication? We discuss the medicine procurement and Budget 2023 with Mark Cheong, Deputy Head at the School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India and China are among the states that continue to buy Russian exports, after the US, EU and allies imposed sanctions isolating Russia from the global economy. However both President Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to distance themselves from Russia’s offensive in Ukraine when they met during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Is this indicative of cracks in Russia’s dip...

How much has Malaysia’s economic recovery been hampered by the lack of foreign workers? And which listed companies are impacted or even stand to benefit? For some analysis on the impact of the labour shortage, we speak to Jeremy Goh, Head of Research, Hong Leong Investment Bank See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.